Run the Beach, Cross the Bay, & Join the Fun!

Don’t miss your chance to cross the historical Queen Isabella Causeway over the beautiful Laguna Madre by participating in the 5k Fitness Walk or the 10k Run! Finisher medals will be given to all participants! Plus cash prizes for overall 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place runners in both female and male divisions. Award medals for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place racers in each age group!

Don’t Hesitate! Participate!

Online registration is now open! Follow the links below to register today and take advantage of our early bird registration fees:

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Our team has moved to another RE/MAX® office. How ironic after all these years that the Padre Elite Team has joined a company named RE/MAX® Elite! Their main office is in Mission but they have obtained a brand new RE/MAX® franchise opening up in our area. We could not be more excited!

Our new office is at the foot of the Causeway on the corner of Hwy. 100 and Garcia St. in Port Isabel. The address is 103 S. Garcia St., Port Isabel, TX 78578. They are working on an awesome build out just for the RE/MAX Elite Agents. In the meanwhile, call us on our cell phones. For your convenience, here are our phone numbers:

South Padre Island, TX, Mar. 7, 2017: Technology is becoming increasingly intertwined with the daily work of law enforcement. The software, hardware, and communication networks can equip officers to further their ability to serve and protect South Padre Island.

“Our number one priority is the safety and well-being of our guests and residents,” said City Manager Susan Guthrie. “By using the latest technology, we can leverage our resources even further.”

The City of South Padre Island Police Department will utilize modernized equipment in the effort to safeguard the community. These technological advancements assist law enforcement officers in the field and include:

In-car digital video equipment.

Body cameras.

Automated License Plate Recognition cameras (ALPR).

Surveillance camera located at the base of the causeway, westbound lanes.

Temporarily mounted surveillance cameras strategically placed at popular events known to draw large populations.

Gail White Weaving Class Gail White will be teaching weaving classes this year for the first time at Art Space in January and in February. She is offering two classes, each is a two day class. Wed. and Thurs. January 25 and 26, and again Thurs and Fri, Feb. 2nd and 3rd. Time will be 9:30 – 4:00 with a lunch break. Gail has been teaching Fiber Arts for many years. She also is a dealer in looms, shuttles, spinning wheels and accessories needed for weaving. Cost will be $172 (Members $142) All materials will be provided.

Don’t miss your chance to cross the historical Queen Isabella Causeway over the beautiful Laguna Madre by participating in the 5k Fitness Walk or the 10k Run! Finisher medals given to all participants! Plus cash prizes for overall 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place runners in both female and male divisions. Award medals for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place racers in each age group!

Don’t Hesitate! Participate!
Register before December 31st and take advantage of Early Bird Registration fees! $30 (10k Run); $25 (5k Walk); Students & Military with ID $15 (10k Run or 5k Walk).

Real Estate Pros Divulge Top Design Features

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2016

BUILDER recently asked real estate professionals to share their thoughts about the top design trends their clients are currently requesting. Here are some of the top design trends that real estate pros said are in demand:

Located off the southernmost tip of Texas, South Padre Island is such a popular resort area that when a new Short-Term Rental Registration Ordinance was adopted by its City Council last year, it affected the vast majority of the island’s residential properties. Thanks to the REALTOR® Party’s Land Use Initiative, the South Padre Island Board of REALTORS®(SPIBOR) was able to overturn several provisions of the ordinance it found overly restrictive. In doing so, not only did the 120-member board succeed in protecting the rights of property owners, but it gained new respect from the city, which now looks to the REALTORS® as the voice of real estate in the community.

Lindsey Martinez, SPIBOR’s Association Executive, admits that as a relatively new board, she and her team were caught off-guard by the new ordinance; fortunately, their field rep from the Texas Association of REALTORS® (TAR) had their backs. “He was super-involved,” says Martinez, “and he clued us in to how detrimental these short-term rental ordinances could be.” For her part, she quickly got up to speed by reading the standards established by the national and state associations, and with the guidance of the field rep and Government Affairs staff at TAR, applied to the REALTOR® Party for a Land Use Initiative review.

SPIBOR submitted the approved ordinance to Robinson & Cole, the law firm retained by the National Association of REALTORS® to advise state and local associations on land use legislation. Martinez was amazed by the speed and thoroughness of the response. “We received the review back much sooner than expected, and it was perfectly clear and easy to follow,” she says. “Not only that, but they caught a number of issues that we hadn’t noticed. For a small board like ours, with limited resources, the Land Use Initiative provided invaluable expertise.”

Armed with the legal review, SPIBOR met informally with members of the City Council, who were also impressed by the value of the Robinson & Cole comments. The situation wasn’t adversarial at all, notes Martinez, but more about opening lines of communication. “While we would have preferred to have had the entire ordinance repealed,” she says, “it wasn’t feasible at that point, so we focused on issues of safety and fees. They were very receptive.” In fact, reviewing the objections together, she recalls, the Council Members said about one after another, ‘Hey that wasn’t our intent!’

All eight members of SPIBOR’s board of directors joined Martinez at the City Council meeting on October 19, when the amendment proposing its requested changes to the ordinance was on the agenda. Another REALTOR®, one of several who are property managers, spoke during the public comments. The amendment was easily approved, and the City Attorney commended the REALTORS® for their public-spirited assistance in what he called “clean-up and clarification” of the ordinance.

SPIBOR’s success in amending the Short-Term Rental Registration Ordinance benefits all the property owners of South Padre Island, including the many who live elsewhere and may not be paying attention to local politics and policies. The victory has also boosted the small association’s confidence in its own powers of political advocacy. In upholding NAR’s Core Standards, SPIBOR was already working hard to be the island’s voice for real estate by posting market statistics on social media and drafting articles for the local newspaper. But thanks to its involvement in revising the problematic ordinance, the city now regards the REALTORS® as valuable partners. “The day after the October City Council meeting, the City Manager, who is new in the position, invited us to meet with her; moving forward, she’ll be looking to us as a resource,” says Martinez, noting that Council Members also expressed the hope that SPIBOR would continue to be involved in city business.

“We have such great leaders at TAR, and we could not have done this without their hard work and guidance—or without the resources of the REALTOR® Party,” she says.

To learn more about how the South Padre Island Board of REALTORS® used REALTOR®Party resources to protect the rights of rental property owners in its small resort community, contact Association Executive Lindsey Martinez at lindsey@spirealtors.com or 956-772-1940.

The Port Isabel – South Padre Island Christmas Lighted Boat Parade has been moved up due to weather concerns.

Originally scheduled to occur on Sunday evening, the parade will now take place on Saturday, Dec. 17. Boats will still depart from Southpoint Marina in Port Isabel and make their way along the bay before arriving for judging at Jim’s Pier on South Padre Island.

ElPaseo Arts Foundation will present a very special local production that is something of an extravaganza – a revue of some of the funniest and most memorable moments from plays and musicals that El Paseo Arts Foundation’s local players have performed over the past 11 years. Instead of a single play or musical with a beginning, middle and end, EPAF’s Showstoppers! is a collection of scenes and songs showcasing some of El Paseo’s most popular local performers in signature roles.

Tickets are currently available atwww.elpaseoarts.org for all events. Mariachi Aztlán and Showstoppers are also available at Paragraphs Book Store, S.O.S, PadreRitaGrill and the Art Gallery in Port Isabel.

EPAF members and sponsors you can now get tickets online at member prices. Visit our website at www.elpaseoarts.organd go to tickets in the menu, or click “buy” on the calendar on the right side of the page.